Maple 60 Minutes Challenge
by Correcthorsebatterystaple
Summary: A series of oneshots following the prompts of the Maple 60 minutes challenge on twitter.
1. Tino

**AN: So, Kiel convinced me to do the Maple 60 mins challenge. I missed yesterday, so here's the next prompt: Tino.**

* * *

Although the legendary heroes, in all their bickering, did not agree on many things, they did agree on one thing.

They desperately needed something to do in their precious spare time that wasn't twiddling their thumbs or shoving said thumbs up their asses.

So, with this in mind, Phantom set out around Ereve, where they were set to have a meeting in the afternoon. It was strange to explore the place, when he remembered it best by moonlight and a balcony. Not sunlight streaming through green and yellow leaves, or blue skies with nary a cloud in sight. And definitely not tripping over a small white bundle and falling flat on his face.

"_Ow," _Phantom hissed angrily, fully prepared to pick himself up and kick whatever it was that tripped him with wrathful vengeance.

But then it _mewled_ at him. Or chirped or whatever the fuck that sound was.

"Tii~?" The little white bird tilted its head at him, looking equally offended.

"Well, it's not _my_ fault a certain feathery asshole was in the middle of the walkway!" Phantom huffed, before realizing that he was talking to a bird and glancing about to make sure no one was around.

"Ti!" The tino practically glared at him, its feathers ruffled.

Once again glancing around, Phantom promptly threw up his middle fingers at it. And before he could even blink it was flying at him and there was stinging pain everywhere. It was _pecking _him.

Phantom screeched like a baby and ran for the hills, tino pecking him all the way there. When he arrived at the meeting, he obtained many odd looks from the others there for his bedraggled appearance. But nonetheless, the meeting commenced.

And in the middle of it, Phantom burst out with a passionate look on his face, "_Tino ball."_

Silence. You could practically hear the crickets chirping.

"...If that's all, Phantom?" Freud blinked, struggling to not look amused.

"No, but wait! We just kick the little things around and try to get them past each other. There's six of us, so we could split three on each team-"

"_If that's all?" _Freud repeated, now visibly trying to stifle his laughter as Neinheart stood, fury evident on his face, and marched over to the master thief.

"Uh..." Phantom blinked, holding up his hands sheepishly as he watched Neinheart slowly but surely make his way over, "Yeah, that's all."

"Listen here," Neinheart said seethingly, jabbing his finger into Phantom's chest on every word, "The creatures of Ereve are sacred children of Shinsoo, and it is a _blessing_ that we are allowed to live among these higher beings."

"But it _pecked_ me-"

"Then you deserved it," Neinheart interrupted coldly.

Phantom sulked for the rest of the day.


	2. Wishes

**AN: There's actually some context behind this- It's Lux's (My fan name for the Black Mage) perspective on my story Alea Iacta Est. **

**Written in 30-ish minutes. Pairing: Black MagexFreud**

* * *

Stars. So far away, but somehow they seemed so close. Just close enough to watch over humanity, but far enough to be untouchable.

They were the light that shone through the inky black, blue, amethyst, even sometimes orange with the fumes of a city sky. And sometimes Lux would just _think_ about it, think about how somehow the darkness was so endless, with only the brightest of stars to puncture it. Saints amidst a sea of sinners.

There were many sayings about the stars. Some said that they were the eyes of the goddess who dreamed the world. Some said that they were aliens, angels, lanterns that were hung past the borders of their world to light their way. Little Lux, growing up, wasn't quite sure what to believe. But he knew one thing.

He was going to be the brightest light amidst the churning crowds of black. And that night, he smiled grimly, traced a path through the sky with his finger.

_"I wish, I wish, upon a star," He whispered._

* * *

Darkness. It was what he succumbed to so easily, letting all hopes of ever being the brightest fall from his fingertips and shatter on the floor.

Years passed. He fought, won, lost, all at once and it just added to Lux's fury, a hateful, tangible thing that was thick enough to cut through with a knife.

_Am I saint or sinner, darkness or light?_ It was the question that kept him up at night. Yet in the end, it didn't matter. He would be the brightest light or the blackest darkness. As long as he was the epitome of it all.

Years passed. Several hundred of them.

Lux never thought he would fall in love, all over again. In dark dungeons this time, rather than gold fields and blue, blue, blue.

Love was what perhaps lead him to drag his fingers down a dragon master's stomach, or perhaps some sick, wonderful desire to _own,_ to let Freud fall apart just for him. And when white coated his hand, maybe love was what made him grimace through the disgust, instead just wiping it on Freud's thighs and curling up around him.

_Alea iacta est_. A roll of the dice. That was what this was, wasn't it?

Maybe love was what made him scream when he lost all that he held dear to him, curled up in the room where he had shared so many memories with his love, his love who had escaped, _abandoned him._

In the desperation of that moment, Lux closed his eyes and did something he had not done since he was a child.

"_I wish, I wish, upon a star," He whispered._

He got his wish.


	3. Water

**AN: ...This had a plot, kind of. And then I ran out of time and just glossed it over.**

**Written in 60 minutes. Pairing: PhanFreud**

_Cold. It's cold and he's struggling for breath but all there is is ice flooding into his throat, cold fire burning his insides._

_He's no stranger to pain but it hurts, he's so helpless, why can't he just break the surface?!_

_The water is pulling him down, down, down. A helpless sob echoes eerily through the water and then everything is going black._

_He reaches for the surface and his fingers don't even graze air._

Phantom awoke with a cry, sweat sticking his underwear to his hips and thighs, his sheets to his bare chest.

With a frustrated grunt, he raked his fingers through damp hair and grabbed fistfuls of it, tugging roughly. And just when he thought that it couldn't get any worse, he heard footsteps hesitating outside of his door. There was no mistaking the sound; he had highly trained ears, after all.

"Go away," Phantom grumbled tiredly.

Of course, Freud would never listen. The door slipped open, thankfully without any obnoxious creaking, and in came a scholar wearing only a buttoned white night shirt.

"Phantom," Freud murmured, eyes scanning over the master thief's bedraggled appearance, "You need a shower."

The thought of water, pouring down on him drowning su ff oc at ing him had the man tensing, eyes wide.

A soft sigh, and Freud just walked over to his friend and hauled him up with surprising strength for his slender form and began walking him to the dining room of the Lumiere. There, he gently pushed the blond into a chair and busied himself making tea with such ease that it was like he had lived onboard the Lumiere for years, like Phantom himself.

Phantom looked vaguely startled when Freud sat down across from him and slid towards him a cup full of steaming Earl Grey tea.

And Freud waited. It was human nature to talk, especially when one felt expected to.

Finally, Phantom cracked.

"Why do we have to have nightmares?" He groaned, laying his head in his hands.

"It's the brain's way of processing the events of the day. It can also be a way of your subconscious trying to tell you something."

"Pray tell, have you ever heard of a rhetorical question, Freud?" Phantom snarked, sighing as he took a sip of the tea. Freud ignored the snipe.

"Care to tell me about it?"

Phantom blinked and sighed. The question was gentle, tempting to give in to.

"...I was drowning."

"And what do you think that was about?" Freud prodded, leaning over the table.

"I don't know," Phantom bit out. He hated it when Freud got like... That. Always asking things and acting like he knew something that Phantom didn't.

"Think of it in terms of a metaphor. What is water like?"

"Wet."

"That too," Freud's eyes were warm, gentle, "But it's also two things- it can be caring or rough, soothing or hurtful."

"Like love," Phantom blinked in realization, straightening up.

Freud grinned, "Exactly. So, do you suppose that the dream was about being afraid of love?"

Phantom faked a yawn and stretched, downing the rest of his tea, and forced a smile, "I think that's enough of weird subconscious stuff. I'm tired. Goodnight, Freud."

Phantom turned and left, and didn't tell Freud that his eyes reminded him of water.

...Freud smiled knowingly to himself.


	4. Play With Me

**AN: Written in 40 minutes. Pardon me if Claudine is out of character, I've never written her before.**

* * *

Sometimes, Claudine wondered if she was missing something.

Belle had Black Jack. Checky had his robot. Even _Brighton_ had a dark reaper that he could summon. And yet, all Claudine had were her fists and daggers, a pinch of medical knowledge and sometimes a foul mouth, when it was called for. It was frustrating.

So what _was_ she missing? Was she supposed to discover a new branch of thieves, by inventing something or meeting an animal? Learning a skill to summon something?

The brunette sighed and just shook her head, clearing the thoughts away. Thief or not, she was not the legendary 'Phantom', who attended the alliance meetings; she wasn't a copy cat, and she refused to copy her friends and allies. She would come up with something of her own.

Deciding to go for a walk, Claudine stripped out of her blouse, mask, hat and boots and tugged on more casual wear- a hoodie and jeans. She pulled her medium-length hair into a ponytail, called quietly out to the lounge of their underground headquarters, "I'll be back."

Although she had a taste for fanciness, as most thieves did, it was simpler to dress casually. The most attention she would get out in the streets would be a called out, "Afternoon, doctor Claudine."

As she was walking, watching the tall buildings in the city pass by, she was startled to feel something- no, someone- bump into her.

"S-sorry, miz Claudine!" A little girl stammered up at the tall woman.

"It's fine, just be more careful, okay, Cutie?" Claudine reached down and ruffled her hair. Cutie wasn't her actual name- it was a street name that she had taken to calling her, ever since the Black Wings had nearly caught her and their newest recruit playing hide and seek too close to the Verne Mines. They must have heard her name from the newbie, yelling at her to run, and so Claudine figured it would be for the best to keep her head down and make sure they didn't hear that name again.

A sea of other kids began to crowd around her, having heard the news that Claudine was around. Ulrika, Jun, Smartie, Mysterie and Fattie (Claudine _really_ disliked the name, but it was the first thing that popped out of Elex's mouth, it had stuck, and the kid didn't mind it,) all were looking up at her excitedly.

"Claudy," Mysterie tugged at the thief's sleeve, her bangs obscuring her eyes, "Will you play with me?"

"It's not Claudy, her name's Clau_dine_," Smartie scolded, arms crossed over his chest. His braces showed as he talked, "Claudine, would you care to play with me?"

"No, she's gonna play with _me!_" Fattie pouted, reaching into his pockets, "I got you some candy, Claudy!"

"Why, thank you," Claudine smiled appreciatively, "And of course I'll play. I'll play with all of you. Just no hide and seek," She bent down and winked, lying, "Remember last time, when Cutie scraped her knee trying to find you all?"

Cutie pouted, "I did _not-"_

Smartie, true to his name, interrupted, "Of course you did. Don't be embarrassed, silly girl, we all do it."

Claudine, smiling to herself, spaced out as she played with the little kids, something occuring to her.

_This_ was her weapon. Not an animal, a spell or a robot. None of that was how she fought. No, she fought for these small people. The hope for their future.

And that was good enough for her.

_I'll protect you, _Claudine swore.


	5. High School

**AN: /cries into the night this is so late and I've still got more to catch up on**

**Written in 20 minutes.**

* * *

Hushed voices. A silky, smooth and playful one, mixed with a deep, plaintive voice, "Come _on,_ it'll be fun!"

"Phantom. We would be violating their privacy."

Phantom's chest puffed out, "Every respectable young man goes on a panty raid once in his life!"

"...And where did you read that, a magazine?"

"No, Freud! The internet! The internet never lies."

Freud impatiently sighed, raking fingers through his hair, "I'm not doing it. Mercedes would kill us."

"_Please?_" Phantom begged, pouting, "I'll blow you."

"...Deal," Freud grumbled, "Although I don't understand why you feel the need to steal some poor girl's panties when you have a perfectly good boyfriend who can," Freud's voice dropped as he leaned in and purred against Phantom's ear, "Send you _dirty _underwear of his that's dripping with come."

Phantom, now beet red, looked away, "Uh... Let's just go."

"Mercedes, first?" Freud hummed.

"Mercedes, first."

* * *

"She- ahahaaa, she has a thong with... With _unicorns_ on it!" Phantom was doubled over laughing, only to have his mouth covered by Freud.

"_Hush,_ Phantom. Do you want to get caught?"

Phantom just licked Freud's fingers and stared down at the lacy... Thing, he was holding, snickers stifled. He stuffed it in the backpack he was wearing.

...Freud's fingers didn't move from his mouth.

"That's right, suck them," Freud hummed against his ear.

And that was how Phantom wound up with a boner in the middle of his ex-girlfriend's room, with a backpack full of her thongs, making out on her bed with his boyfriend when she walked in and screamed.

"I can explain...!"

Well, that was their high school days in a nutshell.


End file.
